Michael Rubin: Americans hope for reform in Kurdistan

KurdishMedia.com ^ | 05/15/2009 | Kamal Chomani

[a_Turk]

Americans hope that there will be more reform in Kurdistan, but there is a feeling that it is not the job of Americans to bring change. Iraqi Kurds have their own future in their hands, says resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, Michael Rubin. He has written several articles about the domestic politics in the Middle-East. Rubin is also a Senior Lecturer at the Naval Postgraduate School and gave lectures at the Kurdish Universities of Sulaymani, Salahuddin, and Duhok (Iraqi Kurdistan). In the recent years he got a lot of attention for his critical articles in western media aimed against corruption in Kurdistan. The Kurdish newspaper Livin decided to interview him in it’s last issue.

LIVIN: You recently wrote a op-ed for Washington post about ‘Kurdistan’s troubled democracy’ and Qubad Talabani gave a response later. You have explained that Iraqi Kurdistan touted itself as a model for the rest of Iraq but it was not successful in continuing this. Do you think that this report embarrasses KRG and it is the reason that Qubad answered it? Do you agree with Qubad that says that democracy is thriving in Kurdistan?

Michael Rubin: Democracies do not murder journalists. Democracies do not harass editors. Democracies do not take newspapers to court for honest reporting. Yes, the Kurdistan Regional Government was embarrassed. A delegation from President Barzani’s staff had visited Washington that week. But it’s not my job to care whether Qubad or the KRG are embarrassed. The only thing which should embarrass the KRG is their record. The Washington Post recognizes this. Newsweek magazine recognizes this. Amnesty International recognizes this. American diplomats understand the problems and they know that Kurdistan is withering, not thriving.

LIVIN: What’s your vision towards the Kurdish Lobby in USA? Is the Kurdish lobby successful in attracting American support? What did they do for the Kurds? Isn’t the American Kurdish lobby a copy of the political parties KDP and PUK?

Michael Rubin: The Kurds deserve U.S. sympathy. But, the Kurdish lobby has not performed well. There are a few reasons for this.

1) Effective lobbies in Washington need to make friends and cultivate relationships among both Democrats and Republicans. The KRG representatives are friends only with those in power. But, because power shifts in Washington, both Democrats and Republicans believe the Kurds are not true friends.

2) Kurdish representatives do not understand that there is a difference between the Kurdistan Regional Government [KRG] and more general Kurdish interests. After Scott Carpenter and I wrote our piece in the Washington Post, Qubad Talabani’s office sent around emails saying I was an enemy of the Kurds. That is nonsense. But, unless you agree with Talabani and Barzani 100% of the time, the KRG calls you an enemy. But why should I agree with Kurds 100% of the time? I’m not Kurdish. The mindset that you are an enemy if you don’t follow Barzani and Talabani hurts not only the KRG but Kurds in general. Take me: I disagree with the KRG on corruption, but I agree with them on Article 140. But given how the KRG calls me an enemy, why should I help with Kirkuk? Imagine this happening to dozens of people in Washington. Quite frankly, Qubad Talabani and Masrour Barzani have sacrificed U.S. support for Kurdish aspirations in Kirkuk for the sake of their egos.

3) The KRG also makes a mistake by paying people for friendship. People like Dick Naab and Harry Schute and Cengiz Candar are laughed at in Washington. Jay Garner brags about his connections to General Jones, the new National Security Advisor. But no one in Washington takes seriously anything those paid by the KRG say because they see these people as little more than prostitutes, doing anything for money. For the Kurds to be successful in Washington, they need to make real friends, not just throw money at corrupt former policemen like Harry Schute.

4) The Barzani family also undercuts Kurdish effectiveness. Masrour and Mansour Barzani come to Washington and hold meetings with officials without telling Qubad Talabani. As a result, there is confusion over who represents the Kurds. I actually feel sorry for Qubad: He sees himself as a future prime minister. But everyone around him—even in his own office—know that when his father dies, President Barzani will throw him away. I doubt that he will even allow Qubad (or Bafil) to step foot in Kurdistan.

LIVIN: Why does America support a strong Iraqi central government instead of a federal Iraq. Despite of the fact that Joseph Biden talked about dividing Iraq into three parts for the Kurds, Shia and Sunnis before getting the post? Is it true that USA believes KRG’s model was not a successful one?

Michael Rubin: Kurds have made a basic mistake of analysis. Joseph Biden used the Kurds because he disliked George Bush and Dick Cheney. Biden’s interest was not Kurds or Kurdistan, it was just politics. And, if KRG understood Washington, they would have recognized that Biden was not fully committed to the Kurds. After he joined with Obama, Biden’s federalism plan disappeared from his office website.

But, the United States does believe that the KRG model is successful. This is why the United States committed itself early to a federal Iraq.

Some analysts say that USA supports Nawshirwan Mustafa’s list (CHANGE) in the upcoming general elections, do you agree with this? How do you analyze the parliamentary elections in the coming months in Iraqi Kurdistan?

Michael Rubin: Ultimately, the United States will remain neutral. But many, many officials in Washington hope that reformists will do well in elections. However, there is also recognition that the PUK and KDP are intimidating opponents and bribing people. The Kurdish insistence on closed lists is also undemocratic.

LIVIN: Does the USA want change in Kurdistan?

Michael Rubin: There is a belief in Kurdistan that the United States supports Barzani and Talabani and ignores their corruption and abuse-of-power. This leads to anti-Americanism. The United States certainly supports Talabani as president of Iraq. Feelings toward Barzani are indifferent. Massoud Barzani is not respected like his father was. So, generally Americans hope for reform in Kurdistan. But there is a feeling that it is not the job of Americans to bring change. Iraqi Kurds have their future in their hands. It is a tragedy that so many will sacrifice the ideal of a prosperous Kurdistan because a KDP or PUK party member will give them a bribe.

LIVIN: KDP and PUK medias accuse you as the enemy of KRG’s achievements, they say that you are playing a dangerous game against KRG, is it true that you are an enemy of the KRG and don’t like the ‘thriving democracy’ in Iraqi Kurdistan?

Michael Rubin: This is a stupid accusation. I came to Iraqi Kurdistan when no one else would. I wrote in magazines against the embargo on Iraqi Kurdistan. I taught in the universities. I disagreed with the KRG on two issues: corruption and the PKK.

LIVIN: Could you tell us why do some KDP and PUK journalists say that you are under the control of Turkish Intelligence (MIT) and Turkish Lobby in USA?

Michael Rubin: The KDP and PUK journalists make accusations against anyone who criticizes corruption. Such rumors are nonsense. More than a year ago, the KDP gave Michael Gunter, a U.S. professor, money to say these things. My lawyer contacted him and Gunter was forced to apologize. I do not take money from anyone, but have a salary through my work both for the American Enterprise Institute and the Naval Postgraduate School (a Defense Department university where I teach). I have written just as much about corruption in Turkey: This has led Turkish newspapers to accuse me of working for the Kurds. Just as Barzani has threatened to sue me (although he never did), Prime Minister Erdogan’s advisor has also threatened to sue me.

The reason I criticize corruption so much in Turkey, Iraqi Kurdistan, and, unfortunately, among U.S. army officers like Harry Schute and Dick Naab, is that corruption is like a cancer. Terrorism may hurt a dozen people, but corruption in Kurdistan and Turkey impacts millions. This can actually lead to more violence. The Shah’s corruption, for example, was one of the main reasons the Islamic Revolution occurred in Iran. Ultimately, I believe that democracies are more prosperous and better friends to the United States.

[Paved Paradise]

I think Turkey has been terrible to the Kurds there, and although they have been our strong ally, what they have done is wrong. The Kurds are wrong also, engaging in terrorism. The only thing I can say is Ataturk did a grave injustice, which has come back to haunt Turkey, by essentially trying to squelch Kurdish identity, traditions, and culture. No wonder they fight.